What Are The Best Natural Treatments For Men Who Have Gout?

Aug. 24, 2009— -- Question: What are the best natural treatments for men who have gout?

Answer: Gout is a problem that strikes about 8 percent of people in our country, and there are a lot of natural remedies that can be very helpful, natural approaches that guys can use to prevent flares. A few of those include, number one, hydration. The recommendation is about two and a half liters of water, drunk solely over the course of several hours of the day. The other is, because gout is related to uric acid buildup, and the uric acid comes from foods that contain purine, to decrease those particular foods. Now one of the main sources is organ related meats. So don't eat the kidneys, don't eat the liver, don't eat the sweet made meats which are really brain. The other things that can be quite helpful are avoidance of gaming meat, especially small game. A lot of people also recommend avoiding things like scallops or veal.

There are a few foods that I normally recommend as a physician to other patients that are probably worth avoiding because of the purine as well, including mushrooms, asparagus, and a lot of the legumes as well should be taken in moderation. Legumes include peas, peanuts, lentils, those sorts of things. As far as foods that are good to eat, and that are helpful, I encourage folks to try lots of cherries and a lot of red and blue berries as well. Those tend to have a lot of good compounds that tend to decrease a lot of overall levels of the purines. In general, anything that decreases inflammation, healthy diet, fish oil can be helpful. And some doctors will recommend a really high dose of folate in the range of five milligrams at a time.